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Artists are listed alphabetically, by the first letter of the first name. To search for a specific artist, press Control + F on your keyboard. To visit invidual artists' website, click on the hyperlinked names. (NOTE: This will open up a new browser window.)
After teaching himself drums at the age of 13, it didn't take long before Al Foster was making a name for himself. As a teenager he was recording with trumpeter Blue Mitchell, and by the time he was in his mid-20s he had climbed to the top of the jazz world in the band of Miles Davis. Over his long career Foster has played with Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, Cannonball Adderley, and a host of others. During a visit to the RIJF a couple of years ago, Foster proved that he still ranks among the first-call drummers in jazz. (RN)
Eight-time Grammy Award-winning Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Famer Al Green's music is one of the most beautiful examples of what happens when geographic regions, religions, and cultures collide. Green is the red clay of Dixie-fried gospel and soul relocated to Motown's asphalt. He's sexy, funky, and sly. Green is a legend; he is the quintessential male soul singer. Coming from gospel roots in his native Arkansas, Green was forbidden to sing secular music and didn't cross over until he was in high school and formed Al Greene (he dropped the "e" later) and The Soul Mates in 1967. After he was permanently scarred in a domestic battle and fell from a stage, Green took his misfortunes as warnings from God. He rechristened himself The Reverend Al Green and dedicated his life to gospel, leading his own Full Gospel Tabernacle church in Memphis. Though struggling with gospel and secular's heaven-and-hell tug-o-war, Green never left soul music entirely. Throughout his career he has cut 26 hit singles, including the classics "Let's Stay Together" and "Tired Of Being Alone," and has topped the R&B charts six times. (FD)
In 1978 Alison Brown appeared to be on her way to a brilliant career as a bluegrass banjo player. As a teenager she won first place in the Canadian National Banjo Competition, leading to an appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. Then disaster struck - she got into Harvard University, where she studied history and literature. It got worse; she earned an MBA at UCLA. But, after two years at brokerage firm Smith Barney in San Francisco, Brown came to her senses and quit. She's been a banjo player ever since. After spending three years touring with Alison Krauss in the late 1980's/early 1990's, she formed her own group. Over the last decade she has become one of the leading proponents of contemporary banjo, recording five albums as a leader. (RN)
Amina Figarova is a formidable pianist and composer from the Netherlands. Born in Azerbaijan, Figarova studied classical piano at Baku Conservatory before moving to Holland. After studying jazz performance at Rotterdam Conservatory, she got deeper into jazz at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Figarova, who was in New York City on September 11, 2001, released a beautiful album, "September Suite," as a tribute to those lost in the terrorist attacks. Her latest recording, "Come Escape With Me," is filled with harmonically complex original compositions that her talented sextet - consisting of Bart Platteau (flutes), Nico Schepers (trumpet), Kurt van Herck (tenor saxophone), Wiro Mahieu (bass), and Chris Strik (drums) - is more than up to the challenge of playing. (RN)
Next time you hear someone say that jazz needs to find ways of attracting young people if it's to continue as a viable commercial form, there is a two-word answer: Bad Plus. This isn't your grandfather's bebop band. These are three young musicians - Reid Anderson, bass, Ethan Iverson, piano and David King, drums - with great chops and an uncanny ability to attract a whole new audience to the music. They can write excellent originals ("Layin' A Strip For The Higher-Self State Line"), but even more fascinating is their choice of covers, including David Bowie's "Life On Mars," Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," and Blondie's "Heart Of Glass." It's clear at their performances that they are having at least as good a time as the audience. You'd better get there early; this one's guaranteed to sell out. (RN)
If you close your eyes before the Barbara Dennerlein Duo takes the stage, you might find yourself searching for a bass player when you open them. In addition to her considerable chops on the Hammond B-3 keyboard, Dennerlein plays an unusually enhanced bass component by connecting her foot-pedals to a MIDI system. A protégé on the Hammond B-3 at the age of 15, Dennerlein was well-known to club-goers on the Munich jazz scene in the early 1980s. Over the past two decades she has not only become the top jazz organist in Germany, she has become one of the most celebrated world-wide. With Dennerlein will be drummer John Neumann. (RN)
Leave it to the Norwegians to stir some old soul into new soul jams, and somehow have it sound more authentic than the American roots the music springs from. That's what you get from this collaboration between Nordic musicians Beate S. Lech and Marius Reksjo. Newbie soul star India.Arie lent her vocals to the group's new disc, "Belvedere." Belle's music is sultry funk and seductive soul moving between challenging jazz layers. It's the beauty of songs sung sweet, and an underlying Nashville tinge, as if Owen Bradley was at the wheel. And Lech's voice? Mmm-hmmm. (FD)
Beneath father/son guitar duo Beaucoup Blue's casual blues and stroll lies a gentle folkiness that stands apart from the sinister slide and darkness. When a band like this Philadelphia pair keeps it this bare-boned and simple, there's room for the music's ghosts to cavort in the dust and decay. David and Adrian Mowry's harmonies are that kind of bloodline magic that aren't written or rehearsed; that's just how they are. Their music has that journeyman feel of American folk built up by travels up and down the Eastern Seaboard and beyond. Beaucoup Blue is riveting and haunting, with that kind of beauty you can still hear long after the last note fades away. (FD)
Still an undergraduate student at the Eastman School of Music, saxophonist Ben Britton is already creating a stir with his adventurous solos. He's studied with some of the best saxophonists in jazz, including Chris Potter, Rich Perry, Victor Goines, and Walt Weiskopf, and recently participated in the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Residency at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., where he worked with legends like Billy Taylor, Curtis Fuller, and Carmen Lundy. In addition to his own band, Britton works with Sonic Duality. (RN)
Ben Riley's Monk Legacy Septet
Thelonious Monk's seemingly haphazard phrasing, his sense of time, and his chords full of sweet and sour made him undoubtedly hard to follow. Listen to Monk on subsequent spins and it makes more sense, but he can leave virgin ears downside up. Just imagine if you were his drummer. Ben Riley first heard Monk's "Carolina Moon" with Max Roach on the drums, and he fell in love. Riley was already a noted drummer, playing with Johnny Griffin, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, and Sonny Rollins when Monk first spied him at New York's famed Five Spot in 1964. Soon after Riley got the call to record with Monk at Columbia Records. Riley recorded "It's Monk's Time" without any music or direction from Monk. Soon after he joined Monk's touring band without ever being asked; Monk just assumed he was in. Riley went on to appear on "Straight, No Chaser" and "Monk's Blues," and has gone on to record numerous posthumous odes to the master. This is easily one of the best picks for this year's Jazz Fest in its historic importance and arctic cool. (FD)
Saxophonist Bill Tiberio has a big, funky sound reminiscent of Maceo Parker. His nicely shaped melodic solos are unusually catchy, allowing him to appeal to a wide audience. On his recent album, "Promise Street," he performs a majority of tunes by members of his talented band, which includes Mel Henderson on guitar, Gerry Youngman on B-3 organ and flugelhorn (both members of Paradigm Shift), and Aaron Staebell (drums). Tiberio, a Rochester favorite for two decades, has shared the stage with Fred Wesley, Lou Gramm, The Four Tops, and Nestor Torres. (RN)
Tackling anything by Tom Waits is like wrestling an alligator: do it well and you've got a new pair of shoes; screw up and you're dead, Jack. Describing themselves as a Dixieland funeral with an infinite happy end, Billy's Band is on the fringe in its St. Petersburg home and will be on the fringe of the fringe here. Bandleader Billy Novik heard Waits' "Early Years, Vol. I," and that's all she wrote. Novik barks gruff and hip (in Russian and English) just like Waits - or perhaps Cookie Monster on a vodka bender. A great deal of the band's repertoire is Waits' stuff, and when the band ventures out on its own, the genius, the oddity, and the antiquated charm still shines, just like those alligator shoes I was talking about. (FD)
Blue Vipers of Brooklyn prove that Dixieland ain't just in Dixieland. It rattles and caterwauls in the big boroughs and Tin Pan Alleys, too. Much like the whack we all get from Austin's Asylum Street Spankers, this NYC quintet swings ragged and loose. However, it's a tad more trad, and more focused on standards and standard themes - love, the moon, June, spoon, etc. - than the Spankers' acerbic satire and Beat aesthetic. It's the pep-in-the-step guitar chops and rhythm-driven fun - it practically sounds stolen from The Three Stooges' foley stage - that get the ball rolling. Several residencies in and around the Big Granny Smith as well as frequent performances in Central Park have folks vying for the Vipers. Now it's your turn. (FD)
You'd better arrive early if you want any chance at a seat at the Bob Sneider Trio's exceedingly popular jam session, held every night at Rochester Plaza Hotel's State Street Bar and Grill. Starting at around 10:30 p.m. and getting hotter as the night progresses, the session attracts some of the festival's finest musicians for after-hours jams. Sneider is a world-class jazz guitarist who has superb support from Mike Melito on drums and Phil Flanigan on bass. You never know who will show up. Wynton Marsalis played for an hour after his concert last year. George Benson, Chris Potter, and Eric Alexander are among the many other stars who have sat in with the band. (RN)
Most folks will recognize Scaggs for the pre-disco pop and soul of hits like "Lido Shuffle" and "Lowdown," as well as his cushy forays into the great American songbook. But the man started out cutting it rough and mean in San Francisco's scene by the bay, alongside the likes of Steve Miller. Scaggs joined Miller's band in 1967 for two albums before going solo to release "Boz Scaggs," a soulful, bluesy platter recorded with the legendary Muscle Shoals rhythm section, featuring Jimmy Johnson, Roger Hawkins, David Hood, and Barry Beckett, along with Duane Allman. It's Allman and his slippery guitar tearing up the 13-minute blues burner "Loan Me A Dime." I don't know who's slingin' strings for Scaggs currently, but I'll be holding out for this one. (FD)
The Buddhahood has bounded around Rochester beating the drum - lots of 'em, actually - in a non-stop polyrhythmic spree for the past 10 years. Live, the band is all-encompassing, all-consuming, primal in the extreme. Whether it's playing reggae, mambo, samba, meringue, Caribbean, or jazz, there is simply no resisting this throbbing world beat extravaganza; it's seductive and intoxicating. The band is known for frequently breaking the imaginary dam at the edge of the stage, spilling over into the audience in a procession of shimmy-inducing drums. Buddhahood shows in the past have come just a couple shades shy of a full-blown free for all. This band is poly-everything. (FD)
The Susans - that'd be Tedeschi and Foley - are at that enviable cruising altitude afforded them by talent and years of hard work. Fans of those ladies will undoubtedly fall in love with Carolyn Wonderland, a triple threat (songwriter, singer, guitar slinger) from Austin, Texas, who - in my opinion - burns even hotter than the aforementioned ladies. Wonderland is all race-, genre-, and age-defying pipes, plus bluesy guitar. Her spurs dig deep into Americana's side. She's toured with Buddy Guy and Johnny Winter (Wonderland's cover of his take on "Still Alive and Well" was all I needed to hear to know I liked her), and has sat in with The String Cheese Incident, Los Lobos, and Robert Earl Keen. This gal's gonna blow your doors off. (FD)
Chances are you've seen or heard New York City's Catherine Russell before. Russell, an associate professor of voice at Berklee College of Music in Boston, has lent her formidable pipes to songs and concerts by Steely Dan, Paul Simon, David Bowie, Madonna, Al Green, Isaac Hayes, and Rosanne Cash, to name a few. That's because the vocal utility in her arsenal is fortified with everything from barrelhouse bellows to sultry ballad swoon to cool torch-song come-ons. And the talent runs deep; her dad was Louis Armstrong's musical director when Satchmo moved operations to NYC in 1935. (FD)
It's not every day you hear a hard bop drummer as powerful as Cindy Blackman. More stunning is that fact that Blackman wrote and arranged almost all of the highly polished tunes on her recent two-disc CD, "Music For The New Millennium." Equally impressive is the dexterity of her solos, especially on "The Drums And Me." But, then again, Blackman has spent some time in some pretty serious musical company. After moving to New York City in the early 1980's, she played in the bands of Freddie Hubbard, Sam Rivers, and Jackie McLean. More recently, she's recorded with a variety of jazz and pop artists, including George Benson, Wallace Roney, Lenny Kravitz, and Joss Stone. (RN)
This is some of the funkiest stuff you'll ever hear coming out of the whole post-hippie jam band scene. Multi-instrumentalist Eric Crittenden lays it down deep and funky - almost hip-hop in spots - with a spine-twisting groove. When he gets on the sax, as he's done for Michael Franti and Bob Weir, he ain't afraid to mix it up odd and opaque before cruising smooth and cool. Cats from Soulive and Ratdog are in and out of his group. Overall it's a contemporary jazz journey with detours to the far reaches of the music's origins. There's something in here for just about everybody, including you jazz snobs (oh, how I love you anyway). (FD)
It was about time we got ourselves a new CCR. Cross Canadian Ragweed plays countrified roots rock as big as the band's current home base of Texas, and as comfortable as an old pair of Levi's with the knees blown out. Formed in 1994 in Yukon, Oklahoma, the band's name isn't a reference to the land o' hockey, but is a mash-up of the members' last names. The mash doesn't end there, as the band plays Southern rock with vintage twang and a fresh alt-country back beat that seem to get along just fine. The band knows how to open up balls-out as well, letting go amidst the trademark mid-tempo heartbreakers. CCR hits the highway performing 200-plus dates a year, including dates with fellow Mary Jane fan Willie Nelson every now and again. This is what American country used to - and wished it still could - sound like. (FD)
Saxophonist and flautist David Liebman first came to prominence with the late-1960's fusion group Ten Wheel Drive. During the 1970's he brought his powerful tenor saxophone playing to the bands of greats like Elvin Jones, Miles Davis, and Chick Corea. Since breaking out on his own, Liebman has made more than 100 recordings as a leader, exploring straight-ahead, fusion, free jazz, and Latin music. But on his latest album, "Blues All Ways," Liebman returns to the music that drew him deeper into jazz. Along with several original blues tunes, he pays homage to his saxophone hero, John Coltrane, ending with "Bessie's Blues," the song Coltrane wrote in homage to Bessie Smith. (RN)
If you need to find 12 of the top jazz musicians in Rochester fast, no problem - just go to a concert by the Dave Rivello Ensemble. Great musicians flock to Rivello because they know they'll be playing some of the most gorgeous arrangements available anywhere. Trained by the great arranger Bob Brookmeyer, Rivello is a superb writer, arranger, and conductor. No less a jazz orchestra eminence than Maria Schneider has declared Rivello's writing "compelling and beautiful." With adventurous harmonies recalling composers as diverse as Charles Mingus and Igor Stravinsky, Rivello's band can blow you away with dynamics. On the softer side, Rivello is also capable of gorgeous ballads. (RN)
Dave Samuels Caribbean Jazz Project
A master of vibraphone and marimba, Dave Samuels has been involved in many different bands since attending Berklee College of Music in the early 1970's. He's worked with Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Gerry Mulligan, and Frank Zappa, and was a member of Spyro Gyra. But he seems to have hit his stride when he formed the Caribbean Jazz Project in 1993. True to its name, the group's latest album, Afro Bop Alliance, offers tropical takes on bop standards like "Soul Sauce," "Stolen Moments," and "Bemsha Swing," along with some terrific originals by Samuels. If it can be said that an instrument can take you on a journey to an exotic location, Dave Samuels' marimba is just the ticket. (RN)
David Murray's Black Saint Quartet
David Murray blows hot and cool in the jazz world, but his bags are packed for frequent forays into world beat and the blues. Murray really doesn't alter his style or tone, no matter if he's acting as a brick in the World Saxophone Quartet's immense wall of brass, as a leader of assorted quin-, sex-, and octets, or fronting big bands, or jamming with Jerry Garcia and James "Blood" Ulmer. His easy phrasing and in-the-moment affectations seem to fit everywhere. That includes the powerful soundtrack Murray contributed to "Banished," the 2007 documentary on the expulsion if African Americans from their homes in the Mid-West and South in the late 1800's through the 1930's. Despite his versatility, his Black Saint Quartet (a name taken from the Italian label where he cut many of his legendary sides) is a primo setting for this cat to shine. (FD)
Dee Dee Bridgewater's "A Malian Journey"
Dee Dee Bridgewater started her professional career in the 1970's, singing with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and appearing in "The Wiz" on Broadway. Three decades and 15 albums later, Bridgewater has reached the pinnacle of her career with her latest album, "Red Earth," and her current tour, "A Malian Journey." The album is a collaboration between Bridgewater and the great African musicians she worked with when she traveled to Mali to revisit her African roots. At the RIJF, she will be accompanied by her trio and seven Malian musicians. As Bridgewater and company did so beautifully on the album, the group will play both African music and American jazz. (RN)
Denis Parker & Scott Goudie's Rowdy Blues
The dusty trail led Robert Johnson associate Johnny Shines to Vancouver back in the early 1970's. It was there that he met - and took shine to --- a young Newfoundland visual artist/guitarist named Scott Goudie. Goudie was so enamored, he followed Shines back to Alabama to learn from the old man. Along the way he managed to run into and play with John Hammond, Jr., Muddy Waters, and the Iceman, Albert Collins. Back in St. John, Goudie hooked up with guitarist Denis Parker and the pair began performing as Rowdy Blues. Rowdy Blues sticks to the acoustic side of the blues, with Piedmont swagger and a Delta swamp stomp. (FD)
Having a legendary surname may open doors, but it also leaves big boots to fill. So you should know who his dad is -- if not you should be tied to the whipping post -- but Duane Allman goes beyond The Allman Brothers. These guys arguably invented Southern rock along with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels, Marshall Tucker, and the like. So to hear it come from the offspring, through Honeytribe, makes sense. But these days Southern rock is in bed with the hippies more than ever, and where a lot of the jams get really pushed to the limit (thank you, Trey Anastasio), Devon Allman just solos like a rocker, wailing like his heart hurts. (FD)
In Dharma Jazz, a hybrid group combining jazz and Indian music, each member brings a wealth of experience. Indian-born Badal Roy came to New York in 1968 with little more than his tablas and almost instantly found himself recording with Miles Davis and John McLaughlin. He went on to play with P-Funk, Dizzy Gillespie, and Ornette Coleman. Guitarist Vic Juris has played with Gillespie, Chico Hamilton, and Phil Woods, and recorded 15 albums as a leader. Keyboard player Lewis Porter has worked with Ravi Coltrane, Wycliffe Gordon, and Dave Liebman, and is the author of "John Coltrane: His Life and Music." Percussionist Karttikeya plays Naal drum, djembe, and acoustic and electronic drum sets in rock, jazz, funk, country, and blues bands. (RN)
Like a Buster Poindexter goulash, the rudiments and retro worldliness of traditional Hungarian music get the jazz jolt from Djabe, a Hungarian sextet centered around the brilliant bass of lead composer Barabas Tamas. The band's polyrhythmic play, coupled with brassy jumps from the horns, certainly has the potential for collision. But ultimately Djabe swings with both feet --- each one in any number of genres and grooves. Unexpected, unique, and fun. (FD)
Donnie "Mr. Downchild" Walsh brought the blues to the Blues Brothers. That's right, Jake and Elwood were conceived when Dan Aykroyd and his Second City homeboys caught Downchild Blues Band at one of the band's residencies in downtown Toronto. Whereas a lot of blues had been co-opted and polished, Downchild --- its name taken from a Sonny Boy Williamson tune --- sticks closer to the bone by dialing up doses of Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and the king of that salacious slow drag and shuffle, Jimmy Reed. Downchild's slide guitar work screams Elmore, and as far as the tin sandwich... well, Little Walter and Sonny Boy are smiling too. Over the band's nearly 40 years of playing the blues, it has accumulated more awards than it has shelf space to accommodate. There ain't a blues festival in Canada these cats don't dominate. Downchild plays in the spirit of second generation slicksters like Roomful of Blues and Little Charlie and the Nightcats, but it leaves the edges on. It's the blues, rare and well done; sizzling on the surface but still bloody on the inside. Deeee-licious. (FD)
Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers
Dwayne "Dopsie" Rubin's old man is considered the king of Zydeco. So here comes the prince. The 29-year-old Dopsie grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, surrounded by Zydeco music's spicy rattle and cry. The young man first got involved by strapping into a washboard before moving on to the accordion, where he really shines. People in the know know; Dopsie was voted "Hottest Accordion In America" in 1999 by the American Accordionists Association. (FD)
Leonard Bernstein compared the virtuosity of Eddie Daniels on the clarinet to that of Arthur Rubinstein on the piano, calling him "a thoroughly well-bred demon." And that's just the impression he's made in the classical world. In the jazz world Daniels' career has been equally stunning. He started as a tenor saxophone player with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra in the mid-1960's, but after a clarinet solo on one of the band's albums won him Down Beat magazine's International Critics New Star on Clarinet award, he began to specialize on the instrument. Today he is equally adept at both, unleashing powerful melodic solos on standards and his own compositions. (RN)
Frank Sinatra, Jr. & His Orchestra
Frank Jr. sounds just like dad --- that is, classic dad at his best. Not the warble and coo that got steamrolled by horny bobbysoxers when Frank Sr. sang with Tommy Dorsey's Big Band, but that primo, lush sound he employed while singing with Nelson Riddle. Frank Jr. was his father's musical director and conductor from 1988 until his death in 1998. His big band is a grandiose swinging affair, and he employs various cats from his father's camp, including Bill Miller, Frank Sr.'s pianist for more than 50 years. Now it's Frank Jr.'s turn to do it his way, as he focuses on the mic this time around with Terry Woodson waving the baton, as he has done with the current inception of Nelson Riddle's Orchestra. It ain't Nelson and Frank, but, dammit, it's close. (FD)
Gillespiana --- Tribute to Dizzy Gillespie
When Dizzy Gillespie challenged his pianist, Lalo Schifrin, to write something for the band back in 1960, the man came back a few days later with this exquisite five-movement piece. Each movement was crafted around Gillespie's five primary influences: "Prelude," which focuses on jazz, "Blues," "Panamericana," "Africana," and "Toccata," which combines all components. This tribute will be conducted by Jeff Tyzik and will feature Gillespie's daughter, jazz singer Jeanie Bryson. (FD)
British vocalist Ian Shaw's voice doesn't crack much, but my god, can the man wail melancholy. Sad never sounded so sweet; not coming from a dude, anyway. And the Brits agree: Shaw was voted Best Vocalist at the 2007 BBC Jazz Awards. Shaw was first here for the 2003 Jazz Fest ,where he wowed folks with his soulful take on American standards. And like Herbie Hancock, Shaw paid tribute to Joni Mitchell with his 2006 release "Drawn To All Things." Trumpeter Guy Barker joins Shaw this time around. The two hooked up to do "Barker and Shaw Go To The Movies." It was a sold-out tour with Shaw on piano and vocals and Barker on horn. The way this guy sings, that's all you need. (FD)
Henderson-Owens Trio featuring Dr. Lonnie Smith
Pay close attention to the man beneath the turban; Dr Lonnie Smith is the undisputed wizard of the Hammond B-3 organ. After starting his ride with George Benson in the 1960's, Smith did stints with Lou Donaldson, Red Holloway, and others, and recorded 20 albums as a leader. He'll be in good company at the RIJF with Rochester-based guitarist Mel Henderson providing octave-based solos reminiscent of Wes Montgomery and drummer Ulysses Owens holding down the rhythm. (RN)
He is the third trumpet with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, but Herb Smith's range extends well beyond classical music. The Eastman School of Music professor (and ESM graduate) has played with Al Jarreau, Natalie Cole, Doc Severinsen, The O'Jays and other jazz and pop acts. In addition to his work composing music for silent films, he is cofounder of Thornwood, a smooth jazz group. (RN)
After picking up the guitar at the age of 10, Howard Alden began to study the work of the musicians he most admired: Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, and Barney Kessel. So it's no coincidence that when he emerged on the jazz scene in the 1980's he was one of the leading practitioners of the clear, crisp, fluid, old-school style. Borrowing a page from his hero, George Van Eps, Alden began to play a seven-string guitar in 1992. In addition to more than 20 albums as a leader, he has collaborated with some of the top names in jazz, including Benny Carter, Clark Terry, Warren Vache, and Kenny Davern. (RN)
Iro Haarla Quintet
Finnish harpist and pianist Iro Haarla paints her vibrant soundscapes with Impressionistic strokes. Her recent album, "Northbound," features compositions with titles like "On The Crest Of A Wave," "Watertorn Rocks," and "Veil Of Mist," each of which is an evocative, free-jazz tone poem. Haarla spent much of her career working with her late husband, Edward Vesala, a major force on the European jazz scene, arranging and editing compositions for his group, Sound & Fury. A composer and pianist trained at Helsinki's Sibelius Academy, she took up synthesizers, accordion koto, and even the harp when Vesala needed these instruments. Now Haarla is leading her own ensemble and forging her own distinct path. (RN)
On "Mirror," pianist Jacky Terrasson's latest solo album, he plays a mixture of standards and originals in his unique, cerebral style. Even when he takes on an overplayed tune, like Carole King's "You've Got A Friend," he can reinvent it with an imaginative bass line or a new harmony. His rendition of "America The Beautiful" is fascinatingly abstract. As a composer, Terrasson's style is gorgeously impressionistic; his tunes may remind you more of Debussy than Monk. After growing up in Europe, Terrasson came to the United States to study at the Berklee College of Music. He won the Thelonious Monk piano competition in 1993 and recorded his first album the following year. When he met Betty Carter at a recording session she was so impressed, she asked him to join her road band, which was beginning a tour the next day. (RN)
Since emerging from Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen in 2002, Danish pianist Jacob Anderskov has become one of the leading jazz musicians in Denmark. At last count he has five working ensembles, but when he performs at the RIJF he will play solo. That should provide a chance for audiences to fully appreciate his gorgeously evocative style. On his 11 albums, Anderskov demonstrates his dexterity in a world of varied and unorthodox time signatures and harmonic structures. His sets should be some of the most progressive and captivating of the festival. (RN)
Jae Sinnett has been a top-notch drummer in a variety of settings for the past two decades. He has played with some of the most demanding musicians in jazz, including Branford and Ellis Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, and Joe Henderson. Sinnett's latest quartet album, "It's Telling... A Drummer's Perspective," showcases another side of his talent. He wrote the album's complex, challenging compositions, all of which are beautifully interpreted by Sinnett and the band's other three members. Steve Wilson applies his impeccable style on saxophone solos throughout. Allen Farnham is consistently excellent on piano. And Terry Burrell locks in beautifully with Sinnett, whether he is playing acoustic or six-string electric bass. (RN)
By now we know that it is no threat to the jazz-loving population to say that Jake Shimabukuro is viral. It simply means that a YouTube video of him playing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" in Central Park is so popular that well over 2 million people have seen it. And if you haven't heard it, let's just say 2 million people can't be wrong. The arrangement is complicated enough, involving bass, rhythm, and lead at the same time. But what makes it incredible is the fact that he is playing it on a ukulele with only four strings and a tiny neck that looks like it belongs in the hands of Mickey Mouse. If you do catch it on YouTube (or his own Flamenco-oriented "Let's Dance") it's a safe bet you're going to be in line for this concert. (RN)
When the five members of Denmark's JazzKamikaze got together for the first time to compete in Young Jazz 2005, they didn't know they were forming a lasting bond. They won the competition and went on to win "Young Nordic Jazz Comets" the same year. The following year they won the audience's prize for Best Group at the Getxo Festival in Spain. Saxophonist Marius Neset won best instrumentalist at the same festival, and it's not difficult to hear why; he honks his horn like a combination of Maceo Parker and Hank Mobley. The other band members --- Morten Schantz (keyboards), Kristor Brødsgaard (bass), Daniel Davidsen (guitars), and Anton Eger (drums) --- cook at as high a temperature as any American jazz group. (RN)
Jimmy Page, Rory Gallagher, Peter Green, Gary Moore... they weren't trying to reinvent, they set out to recreate. Still, American blues in these inquisitive hands got amped up and re-tooled before getting fired back to our shores, where guitarists like Utica native Joe Bonamassa were listening. That's not unusual, except that Bonamassa was 10 when what he heard was getting tweaked and twanged even further coming from his own guitar. Bonamassa first came to Rochester at 11 when he opened for B.B. King at the now-defunct Festival Tent. He was a young, cute kid playing a guitar as big as he was. But the "isn't he so adorable" shtick that followed is long gone, replaced by genuine awe inspired by one of the premiere guitarists in the new wave of six-string monsters. His latest disc, "Sloe Gin," is full of his big tone and fluidity, and it shows off his maturity and remarkable reserve. Bonamassa doesn't always go for the throat by copping to flashy riffs, but rather treats each song accordingly, going for the heart instead. (FD)
Tenor saxophonist Pat LaBarbera and drummer Joe LaBarbera were born in Mt. Morris, New York, to a family that produced three notable jazz players. (The other is trumpeter/arranger John LaBarbera.) Pat joined the Buddy Rich Band when he was fresh out of Berklee College of Music. A proponent of John Coltrane-style blowing, he toured and recorded extensively with Coltrane's drummer, Elvin Jones. Well known on the Rochester scene, and nationally, Joe has worked with Chuck Mangione, Tony Bennett, and Jim Hall, but he is best known for his two years touring with Bill Evans, until the pianist's death in 1980. (RN)
Joe Locke began his career as a teenager playing in Rochester clubs before heading to New York City in the early 1980's. Three decades later, he is one of the world's top vibraphonists. Locke is one of the most exciting jazz performers to watch as he dances his way around his instrument. One indication of his rising status is the fact that he appeared at smaller venues in his past RIJF performances; this time he'll join the elite at Kilbourn Hall. He's played with many of the top names in jazz, but he is excited about the three young musicians in his new quartet: Robert Rodriguez, piano; Ricardo (Ricky) Rodriguez, bass (no relation), and Jonathan Blake, drums. (RN)
John Beck Trio featuring Mike Cottone
John Beck is well known as principal timpanist with the Rochester Philharmonic (since 1962!), and as a professor of percussion at the Eastman School of Music. But in his youth Beck also played jazz with no less than Coleman Hawkins and Hot Lips Page. He also taught Steve Gadd. Trumpeter Mike Cottone recently won the solo jazz chair audition with the US Air Force Band of Liberty in Boston. He has studied with a variety of jazz luminaries, including Marcus Printup, Bob Sneider, and Clay Jenkins, and is currently a member of the Dave Rivello Ensemble. (RN)
Since starting at the top with Miles Davis in the 1980's, John Scofield has stood apart from the pack with the raunchiest guitar style in jazz. He's got the jazz chops, but he loves the electric fuzz, resulting in a kind of Jim Hall-meets-Jimi Hendrix sound. Occasionally touring with Medeski, Martin & Wood has brought him a new generation of fans. His latest album, "This Meets That," finds him in the company of long-time trio mates Steve Swallow (bass) and Bill Stewart (drums) playing his wonderfully brooding originals, traditional blues --- "House Of The Rising Sun" --- and some curve-throwing choices, like a mellow rendition of Charlie Rich's "Behind Closed Doors" and a scorching take on The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." For those who appreciate a more political slant, you can practically hear the sarcasm dripping from "Heck Of A Good Job." (RN)
With a pedal board that rivals the dashboard on the space shuttle, it's John Viviani's guitar that sets the groove for this outfit --- picture Jeff Beck at Studio 54. That's not to say the rhythm section doesn't lay down a thick shag, but lots of funk-based players look to the bass or the drums to set the groove and back-break. Filthy Funk gets its filth and funk from the swirling and flanger'd tones that Viviani eviscerates. Hips know what I'm talking about. (FD)
Beantown beauty Juliet Lloyd's songs are like little lullabies in reverse; they're music for the waking hours. Born and raised in Rochester and educated at Berklee School of Music, Lloyd swims in a crowded pool of young female artists with something to say and something to play. Yet her plaintive voice is just gorgeous over her minimalistic work at the piano. She is somehow more enchanting and perhaps a little more chilling than her contemporaries who simply try to bust clouds; it's effortless pop. Lloyd doesn't sound as if she's trying, but you'll be glad she does. (FD)
The Kentucky Headhunters blasted into the mainstream in 1989 with the salute to the band's local hang, "Dumas Walker." Country radio actually had room for country music in those days. Yet these boys were perhaps a little too rock 'n' roll for country, too country for rock 'n' roll. For genuine country and genuine rock 'n' roll fans this isn't a problem; we just call it Southern rock. You can trace the band's roots back to 1968, when brothers Fred --- he of the coolest sideburns in the world (drums) --- and Richard (guitar) Young formed The Itchy Brothers with lead guitarist Greg Martin and bassist Anthony Kenney. Constant throughout the band's nearly 40 years on stage is a guitar-driven boogie that straddles blues, country, and rock 'n' roll better than bands that hover in just one of those styles. The Kentucky Headhunters are just a good ol' barn dance band, and the barn's on fire, baby. (FD)
Bringing a hired gun like multi-instrumentalist Kevin Breit into your crew will no doubt sharpen your sound. And if you're smart you'll view those lethal chops as an invitation, or a challenge to match the heat. Guitarist Dawn Thompson plays rudimentarily slick and precise. It's pretty, and relatively close to the ground. Thompson's warm, honey tone --- on her guitar and voice --- makes her music perfect for a memorable tete-a-tete over cocktails. When Thompson played the Jazz Fest holiday party late last year, Breit (better known as the devil in Miss Norah Jones' band) tagged along. The man was scary brilliant, like an understated Sonny Landreth switching from Tele to mandolin. He created a sonic wash in waves that spoke of big skies, and trips demarked by well-worn frets. Thompson expertly chorded beneath him, and when it came for her time to shine, she jumped to the upper register with guts. Maybe Breit brought it out. Maybe it's been there all along. I suspect the latter. Anyhow, it was cool. And they're gonna do it again. (FD)
Pianist Kris Davis is among the most adventurous performers you are likely to encounter at the RIJF. Her music can range from the minimalist beauty of repeated cluster chords to Cecil Taylor-style dissonance. Because there is always an element of free jazz improvisation in Davis' music, it is crucial that her bandmates are equally adept at rising to the challenge. Tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby, bassist Eivind Opsvik, and drummer Jeff Davis do not disappoint, reading Davis (and each other) with near-telepathic accuracy. Born in Calgary, Canada, and now based in New York City, Davis has performed with John Hollenbeck, Chris Speed, Peter Herbert, and others. (RN)
Danish composer Kristian Blak has lived in the Faroe Islands. His music is a mixture of indigenous music from around the world --- going so far as to write and record with its more literal influences like birds, running water, and ocean sounds --- with a huge sense of wonder. The music on his latest, "Live In Rudolstadt," has female vocals intoning with heartbreaking invocation and beauty as the instrumentation builds around nature's unscripted events. Blak is a master of utilizing space. That means the space between the notes he writes have the ability to crush, and the spaces he chooses to perform are as integral as the musicians themselves. Cinematically, Grieg's "Pier Gynt Suite" always gets the gig when music is needed for a morning or springtime setting. Let's give it a rest, shall we, and wake up to Blak instead. (FD)
When you hear the term soul-jazz, you might think of any number of contemporary artists. But if you want to go back to the source, you would do well to listen to the music that alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson released on the Blue Note label in the 1960's. Donaldson had already established his cred on recordings with Thelonious Monk, Milt Jackson, and Clifford Brown. His work with Art Blakey pre-dated the Jazz Messengers. When he struck off on his own, his first several albums in the 1950's displayed the influence of Charlie Parker and the blues. But when he combined soul and jazz in the 1960's he found a groove that proved to be irresistible to a wide audience. (RN)
Once Jerry Garcia made good on his band's moniker, the jam band throne was up for grabs. Phish was he first super group to pull the sword out of the stone, and ex-Grateful Dead members like Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart still make the rounds. But it is Brooklyn's Medeski Martin & Wood that has become the new jam band super group. All three band members --- John Medeski (keyboards), Billy Martin (drums), and Chris Wood (Bass) --- are monsters, mixing elements of jazz freedom and rock muscle with a sense of adventure and purpose rather than standard jam band meanderings. In fact they'll be the first ones to tell you they're a jazz band. Wait until the Deadheads hear this. (FD)
If you like your jazz a little on the raw side, Blake Tartare should be just right. Montreal-born, Brooklyn-based Michael Blake plays a variety of instruments, including tenor and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet, and kalimba. In his band are three excellent Danish musicians: Soren Kjaergaard (piano, Wurlitzer organ), Jonas Westergaard (bass), and Kresten Osgood (drums). Blake Tartare plays with frenetic energy, balancing equal measures of structure and free improvisation. Their repertoire contains works by Charles Mingus and Sun Ra, but the majority of tunes are Blake's own adventurous compositions. To put it simply, the music of Blake Tartare is exceedingly well done. (RN)
Saxophonist Miguel Zenon left his native Puerto Rico to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston. It wasn't long before he was noticed by Bob Moses, who asked him to play with the Either/Orchestra. After earning a masters degree at the Manhattan School of Music, he played with a host of jazz giants, including Charlie Haden, Ray Baretto, and Bobby Hutcherson. On his latest album, "Awake," Zenon composes tunes that fit beautifully with his sinuous alto style. His quartet --- Louis Perdomo (keyboards), Hans Glawischnig (bass), and Henry Cole (drums) --- is well suited to his unique style. (RN)
These three Swedes fit in comfortably with contemporary jazz outfits like The Bad Plus and Paul Tillotson's Love Trio --- bands that offer a more open-armed, all-inclusive intimacy. Nothing gets wrenched too tight, nor left open to outside marauders. It's adventurous, but you won't find yourself reaching for a compass or getting a nose bleed. The trio works its way nicely around standards and pianist Fabian Kallerdahl's original compositions, which earned him a Jazz In Sweden Award in 2006. More sunshine and smiles than cocktails and smoke, Music Music Music challenges jazz's setting and requisite mood more than anything else. (FD)
While fronting Sound Spectrum in the 1980's, trumpeter and band leader Nate Rawls decided to beef it up a bit. The Nate Rawls Big Band can blast and swing with an arsenal of 10, or up to an earthquake-causing 24 pieces. Rawls has shared the stage with folks like Ray Charles, Martha & The Vandellas, Little Anthony and The Imperials, Sonny & Cher, Ramsey Lewis, Mahalia Jackson, Stanley Turentine, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Stevie Wonder, and Joe Locke. (FD)
In so many groups that goose classical music instrumentally, rhythmically, or theoretically, the classical still manages to win out. Perhaps these artists have been browbeaten or are too afraid to take the plunge. Maybe they just don't know where to start. Maybe they're just goofy on mothballs. NeoCollage ain't scared. Plunge? This young quintet does a cannonball. Formed in 2004 when all its members were freshman at the Eastman School of Music, NeoCollage started out merely as a group of friends who wanted to play together despite their instruments' (electric harp, double bass, two violins, and electric vibraphone) supposed incompatibility. What came out is now a brilliant synthesis of classical tones, funky rhythms, and electronic textures. It'll blow the doors off the way you think about classical music, and music in general. NeoCollage proves there are actually a few unexplored avenues left that sound so sweet. (FD)
New Energy Jazz Orchestra
Listen to New Energy Jazz Orchestra's "The Sands Of Time" and you will hear some of the most impressive composing and arranging for big bands anywhere. The orchestra was founded by saxophonist Carl Atkins and trumpeter Jonathan Kruger, both faculty members at Rochester Institute of Technology. The compositions and arrangements are by Atkins, Kruger, and trombonist David Gibson. All three contribute excellent solos, as do Terrance Bruce (tenor sax), Mark Kellogg (trombone), Rich Thompson (drums), John Nyerges (piano), and many more outstanding players. Atkins has shared the stage with George Russell, Jaki Byard, and Wayne Shorter. Kruger has played with Cleo Laine and Johnny Mathis. Gibson has played with Randy Brecker and Roy Hargrave. (RN)
New Horizons Big Band is part of national sensation that began here in Rochester at The Eastman School of Music back in 1991. The concept was spearheaded by then-professor Roy Ernst, who recognized that many seniors might benefit from picking up a musical instrument, or re-discovering a long-ago-lost connection to one. New Horizons is truly a community outfit, where experience or overwhelming proficiency aren't required. Seasoned vets help the new guys and rookies of all ages bring their curiosity and energy, all coming together to create music out of their need for one another. (FD)
Regarded by many as the world's greatest bar band, Maryland's The Nighthawks celebrate 29 years of bustin' up dives and concert halls world-wide. The Nighthawks were blues before blues was cool, always putting the music first in their own barn-burning sets, and in legendary backing gigs with greats like Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, and Big Walter Horton. The band is expertly driven by frontman Mark Wenner, a cat with so many old-school tattoos that from a distance he looks like Papa Smurf howlin' and honkin' on the harp. Seeing The Nighthawks means getting involved, baby. Get up and shake it. You may get a little sweaty, a little dirty, but you'll be part of an American roadhouse tradition that will never die, so long as cats like The Nighthawks stay on the road and on the stage. (FD)
Violinist Ola Kvernberg is capable of playing polite, Stéphane Grappelli-style swing. His first consequential gig was, ironically, with a band called the Hot Club de Norvège. But when he's provoked by another musician's wild solo, watch out. He can become more possessed than Paganini, with his left hand sliding up and down the neck of his fiddle with seeming abandon. Of course, to pull this off it takes a tremendous amount of expertise. That's where his training at the Music Conservatory of Trondheim came in. Since graduating, Kvernberg has played with a baroque/contemporary orchestra, the Scarlatti Ensemble, and a bluegrass/Norwegian folk trio. With him in the trio at the RIJF are Steinar Raknes (bass) and Erik Nylander (drums). (RN)
The last time Rachel Z played here, it was the 2006 Jazz Fest at Max Of Eastman Place. She opened with "Autumn Leaves," and her cascading notes served the title. It was as beautiful as she is. Z's career was pre-destined; voice lessons at age 2, piano lessons at 7. Even her dollhouse was a miniature Metropolitan Opera House. Opera was in the cards until she heard "Miles Smiles" and started improvising on her own --- and that doesn't fly in opera. She has performed as a member of progressive outfit Steps Ahead, and collaborated outside jazz walls with folks like Peter Gabriel. Z plays in a traditional trio setting mostly, but influences from Hancock to Corea have her less locked down, ready to veer at any moment. (FD)
Richard Bona has established a reputation as one of the world's greatest bassists, contributing his unique style to albums by Joe Zawinul, Mike Stern, George Benson, and many others. His gorgeous tone and breathtaking dexterity have also won him a slot on two excellent albums by the Jaco Pastorius Big Band. But Bona is capable of far more. He is a wonderful guitarist, percussionist, and singer. When he tours with Pat Metheny, he hardly picks up his bass. Bona learned all of his musical skills growing up in Cameroon, the West African country of his birth. Since coming to the United States in the mid-1990's he has released six albums as a leader, playing every instrument in sight and adding his distinctive songwriting to the mix. (RN)
Robi Botos began playing drums and percussion while growing up with his Romani (Gypsy) family in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary. At the age of 7 he switched to the piano and eventually gravitated toward jazz. He has won numerous awards, from Best Soloist at Hungarian Bartok Radio's international jazz piano competition in 1998, to Canada's National Jazz Award for Keyboardist of the Year in 2007. With his brilliant technique and wonderful sensitivity, it is not difficult to see why he garners so many prizes. (RN)
You can hear a little Ella ringing from this red-headed belle. And it isn't just because vocalist Robin McKelle drinks from the same well; it's in her tone and phrasing as well. It's warm and sweet but, it's got stones. McKelle's big band sound --- produced by Brian Setzer's trumpeter/arranger Willie Murillo --- is full of classic wartime exuberance. (America needed music bad back then; come to think of it, it still does.) Currently living in Boston, McKelle grew up in Rochester. She attended Berklee School of Music and has shared the stage with heavyweights like Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and Terrence Blanchard. She entered the Thelonious Monk Vocal Jazz competition in 2004, where she took third place. The list goes on and on, but you've really just got to hear this young lady sing. Sophisticated, sexy, and swingin. (FD)
Rochester Jazz @ The Philharmonic "Celebrating The Jam Session"
What an embarrassment of riches! It's hard to imagine this much talent on one stage, but it takes a host of great players to ignite the competitive spirit of a knock-down, drag-out jam session. One of today's top jazz singers, Carmen Lundy, will handle vocals. Her scat-singing skills will be put to the test against a variety of instrumentalists, spanning the generations. The legend in the horn section is trombonist Slide Hampton, a veteran of the big bands of Buddy Johnson, Lionel Hampton, and Woody Herman. The young lions are Nicholas Payton and Jeremy Pelt, both formidable trumpet masters. Presiding over the saxophone section is the great tenor man Houston Person. But look out for Eric Alexander (tenor) and Vince Herring (alto), two of the finest young players on the scene today. On piano, the magnificent Cedar Walton shares duties with the phenomenal upstart, Eric Reed. Behind the drums will be a man who has held that chair in the bands of John Coltrane, Oscar Peterson, and Cannonball Adderley: the wonderful Louis Hayes. He will be challenged by top-notch percussionist Kenny Washington. This stellar group of musicians is rounded out by Peter Bernstein, guitar, and Peter Washington and David Williams, bass. When these guys start going at it, get out of the way. (RN)
This year's line-up has it's share of wailers, shouters, and belters, but the cool and casual set is gonna be here, too. Jazz vocalist Sachal Vasandani works standards and originals in a similar vein, with a maturity you'd expect from more seasoned, salty cats. Based now in New York City, Vasandani grew up in Chicago listening to the jazz --- from Ellington to Jarrett --- his folks spun on the turntable. His warm tenor fits nicely in the classic trio format, an arrangement that complements a tone accessible to those far outside the standard cocktail-sippin', finger-poppin' fan. (FD)
Louis Jordan's hysterical ode to the speakeasy, "Saturday Night Fish Fry" is one of the coolest jump blues tunes ever. In this case it's a jump from the coffee house to the barrelhouse, with Canadian blues-based outfit Saturday Night Fish Fry giving the works of Bob Dylan a roadhouse twist on its latest CD, "Dirt Road Blues." Dylan has always hovered blue, with a bit of that rough 'n' tumble/honky tonk chicken wire feel, but no one has ever really fleshed it out. Led by singer-keyboardist Bill King, this band also raids the Stax stable and cuts up on two Eddie Hinton tracks as well. This concept isn't as weird as you might think; in fact, it makes perfect sense. Have you ever listened to "Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat"? (FD)
Saxophonist Shirantha Beddage impressed a lot of fans at the 2006 RIJF with his energetic performance. Born in North Bay, Ontario, Beddage came to Rochester to earn his doctorate at the Eastman School of Music. While there he received the school's Raymond and Maxine Schirmer Award for achievements in jazz composition. His wonderfully personal album, "Roots and Branches," confirms the high level of his compositional talents in addition to showcasing his formidable skills on the baritone, tenor, and soprano saxophones. Beddage, who also plays piano, serves as director of jazz studies at Schwob School of Music in Columbus, Georgia. (RN)
No woman, no cry? Try no Skatalites, no ska. This was the band at Kingston's fabled Studio One in Jamaica. Beside helping to create and develop the infectious tropical blend of boogie woogie, blues, r&b, jazz, Calypso, and African rhythms, The Skatellites served as backing band for Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Toots and the Maytals, Jimmy Cliff, Alton Ellis, and Ken Boothe on some of their earliest recordings in the mid-1950's. The 1960's had them supporting new ska sensations like Delroy Wilson, Desmond Dekker, The Wailers, and Lee "Scratch" Perry, before cutting their own debut, "Ska Authentic," in 1964. Slowed by line-up changes and a hiatus here and there, the band officially reformed in 1986 and is still unparalleled when it comes to rock steady. (FD)
In a career that spans six decades, trombonist/arranger Slide Hampton has participated in a large chunk of jazz history. In the 1950's he toured with the bands of Buddy Johnson, Lionel Hampton, and Maynard Ferguson. In the 1960's he traveled with Woody Herman's Orchestra and led bands with sidemen like Freddie Hub
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